Lubricator.



No. 844.211. 1111111117311 m1421190?,

F. G. TRS. LUBRIGA'TOR,

APPLIOATION FILED 11011.21. 1905.

f UNITE STATES ATEN'I OFFIOE.

ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM G. T. MAROELLUS,

SYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

OF PHILADELPHIA, PENN- LUBRICATOR.

Patented Feb. 12, 1907.

Application filed November 2l, 1905. Serial No. 288,342.

T0 (all Vlll/"1,0771, t nutjl/ concern:

Beit known that I, FREDERICK G. TEEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inLubricators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in lubricators, andhas for its object to provide an exceedingly simple and effective deviceby which either grease or oil may be fed to the bearings of machineryand so constructed that this feeding may be regulated and a furtherobject of my invention is to provide for the operation of lubricators inmultiple from one automatic actuating mechanism to put any or all of thelubricators in or out of action without arresting the operations of theautomatic actuating mechanism and to provide for feeding any or all ofthe lubricators by hand.

Vith these ends in view thisinvention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and thenspecifically designated by the claims.

In order than those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same, the constructionand operation will now be described in detail, referring to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which-Figure l is an elevation of a set of my improved lubricators, the baseto which they are attached being in section; Fig. 2, a vertical sectionof one of the lubricators, Fig. 3, aplan view of one of the lubricators,the plunger-rod being sectioned; Fig. 4, a section at the line of Fig. 3Fig. 5, a vertical section of the automatic actuating mechanism; Fig. 6,a plan view of the locking-ring by which the cover of the lubricator issecured in place; Fig. 7, a similar view of the cover.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the body of any one of thelubricators, which is preferably of cylindrical shape, and B is aplunger fitted to slide vertically therein. This plunger is rigidlysecured to the lower end of the plunger-rod O and consists of two disks,between which is placed a compressible washer D, a nut E being run uponthe reduced lower end of the plunger-rod, by means of which the washermay be compressed more or less, so as to increase its diameter,

thereby causing it to snugly fit the interior walls of the body A.

F represents the cover, which is provided with the plungers F, adaptedto pass into the cut away portions G of the lockingring H, which latteris threaded upon the upper end of the body A, so that when the cover isin place the turning of the lockingring H will lock the cover in place,and as the locking-ring is threaded-upon the body the turning thereofwill draw the cover tight upon its bearings.

I represents a nut fitted to revolve in the cover and held againstdisplacement by the yoke J, secured to the cover by suitable screws, andthis nut projects upward above the surface of the cover and has fittedupon its projecting end a worm-gear K in such manner that said gear whennot otherwise locked to the nut may revolve freely around the hubthereof for the purpose set forth.

In order that the worm-gear may be locked to the nut so as to revolvetherewith when occasion requires, a circular plug L is seated in arecess formed in the gear and the periphery of this plug extends intoanotch formed in the side of the projecting end of the nut, said notchbeing of the same curvature as the periphery of the plug. As will beseen, when this plug is turned tol the position shown in Fig. 3 it willlock the worin-gear to the nut, so that they will revolve together.

A notch L is formed in the plug of a curvature which corresponds to theperiphery of the projecting end of the nut, so that when this plug isgiven a half-turn from the position shown in Fig. 3 the nut L thereinwill coincide with the periphery of the projecting end of the nut, thusunlocking the wormgear from the nut and permitting the former to revolvewithout revolving the latter, and to facilitate the locking andunlocking of the worm-gear and nut a key-shank L2 is formed with theplug upon which a key may be placed to turn the latter.

The plunger-rod O is threaded throughout' the greater portion of itslength, so as to engage with the threads of the nut I, through which itpasses, so that when this plungerrod is held against rotation and thenut revolved said rod will be forced downward, thus forcing the plungerdownward and feeding the grease or oil from the lubricator.

In order that the plunger-rod may be held against rotation while the nutis revolving, a latch M is pivoted to the body A, its inner IOO IIO

end being forked, so as to embrace the flattened sides of theplunger-rod, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and on account of this latchbeing pivoted it may be swung backward out of engagement with theplunger-rod, thus leaving the latter free to revolve when occasionrequires.

N is a bracket secured to the body of the lubricator and having securedtherein the sleeve O, which latter has formed thereon the disk Q, andthis sleeve serves as a bearing for the spindle P, which has securedupon its outer end the worm-wheel P", which meshes with the worm-gear K,so as to revolve the latter, and to the opposite end of the spindle P issecured the ratchet-wheel Q. Around this ratchet-wheel is a circularhousing R, formed with the disk Q, and a portion of the circumference ofsaid housing is cut away so as to expose a certain number of the teethof the ratchet-wheel Q, for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

A cam S is pivoted upon the spindle P and lies against the disk Q withinthe housing R, a portion of the circumference of saidcam coinciding withthe outer periphery of the housing while the remaining portion of thecircumference of said cam drops away toa point below the base of theteeth of the ratchet-wheel Q. This cam has a screw S threaded therein,which projects through a slot in the disk Q in order that the cam may beadjusted and when adjusted held in place by tightening up upon thescrew.

T represents the actuating ratchet-wheel, which is fitted to revolveupon the housing R, and onthe inside of the ratchet-wheel is pivoted apawl T, forced inward by the spring T2, as will be clearly seen byreference to Fig. 4. This pawl rides upon the outer periphery of thehousing R until reaching the cut-away portion thereof, when it will beswung inward and come into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet Q asthe ratchet T is revolved. Now as a portion of the periphery of the camS coincides with the periphery of the housing this pawl in its travelwith the ratchet-wheel T will also ride upon the periphery of said cam,and as said cam is adjustable relative to the cut-away portion of thehousing its adjustment will determine the number of teeth of theratchet-wheel Q which will be eXposed to the pawl T during eachrevolution of the latter, for as long as the pawl is riding upon eitherthe housing or its cam it cannot engage with the teeth of theratchet-wheel Q, and therefore cannot actuate the same.

In order that the actuating ratchet-wheel T may be revolved step bystep, a lever U is pivoted upon the housing R, so as to swing concentrictherewith, and this lever carries a spring-actuated pawl V, set therein,said pawl engaging with the teeth of the actuating-ratchet, so that atevery to-and-fro movement of the lever this ratchet will be moved stepby step, and the lever may be connected with any suitable mechanism forgiving it this to-and-fro movement,or it may be weighted and utilized asa pendulum in order that itv may swing to and fro when the lubricator isattached to a reciprocating part of a machine, such as a cross-head ofan engine. i I.

A cap U, having the body thereof threaded when in engagement withinterior threads formed in the housing, holds the lever U in place.

From the foregoing description the operation of my improvement will beobviously as follows: The lever U being moved to and fro will, throughthe pawl V, revolve the ratchet T step by step, and in so doing carrythe pawl T around upon the housing and the cam S until it comes inengagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel Q, when it will move saidratchet-wheel in unison with the ratchet-wheel T until again riding outof engagement with the teeth of the ratchet- Awheel Q, leaving thelatter stationary, while the ratchet-wheel T continues to revolve.l/Vhile the pawl T is in engagement with the ratchet-wheel Q and thelatter revolved thereby the worm-wheel P upon the same shaft with theratchet-wheel Q will also be revolved and in turn revolve the worm-gearK. The revolving of this worm-gear will revolve the nut T when locked inengagement with the latter, and thereby feed the plunger-rod C andplunger-rod B downward, so as to effect the feeding of the lubricant tothe bearings, and should it be desired to increase or de-v crease theamount of this feeding it may be readily accomplished by adjusting thecam S through the medium of the screw S, by which a greater or lessnumber of teeth of the ratchet-wheel Q will be exposed to the action ofthe pawl T during each revolution of the latter.

Should it become desirable to feed the lubricant by hand, it is onlynecessary to swing the latch M backward out of engagement with theplunger-rod, after which said rod may be turned by grasping the knob Wand revolving the plunger-rod in the proper direction, when the plungerwill be fed downward to any suitable extent.

For convenience in manipulating the locking-ring H a knob H projectstherefrom, so that the operator by grasping this knob may readilymanipulate the locking-ring for removing the cover or locking the samein place.

Tnutilizing a multiple set of lubricators I arrange the caps or bodies Ain series, as shown in Fig. 1, bolting them upon the base a by means ofthe nuts b run upon the nipples c, and each of these lubricators is 'soset relative to the one containing the actuating mechanism that thegear-wheels K mesh IOO IOS

IIO

ISO

. worm-gear fitted to revolve around the nut,

with each other in order that when the first gear-wheel is operated bythe actuating mechanism, as before described, its rotation will likewiserotate the gear-wheels of the remaining lubricators of the series, thusfeeding the lubricant from each of these lubricaters.

When it is desirable to throw out of action one or more of thelubricators, this is readily accomplished by turning the plug L so thatthe notch L thereof registers with the periphery of the nut I, therebyunlocking the gear-wheel K from the nut, as before del scribed, thuspermitting the gear-wheel to l revolve idly without effecting thefeeding of the plunger-rod.

I/Vhere grease is to be used in the lubricator, the nipples c areconnected with the bearing to be lubricated; but in ease oil is usedthen a gooseneck d leads from the bottom of the lubricator, its upperend being connected with a glass tube e, so as to form a sight-feed or,if desired, the lower end of this gooseneck. may be attached directly tothe nipple c.

For certain purposes, such as automobiles, a series of feed-pipes f maylead from the bottom of the lubricator, so as to convey the lubricant todifferent bearings.

In order that the gear K may be revolved independent of the actuatingmechanism, a key-hold g projects from the worin-wheel I, so that by theapplication of a key to this key-hold the worm-wheel may be revolvedindependent .of the actuating mechanism, which in turn will revolve thegear K.

The body of the lubricator may be square or other angular shape whichwill hold the l plunger against rotation, thereby doing away l, with thelatch M. l

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, l 'what I claim as new anduseful is# l. A lubricator consisting of a body forming a container forthe lubricant, a plunger i adapted to slide vertically within said body,l

a plunger-rod rigidly secured to the plunger, y. means for holding rodagainst rotation, a nut through which said rod is threaded, a

means for locking or unlocking said gear to or from said nut and meansfor revolving the worin-gear, as specified.

2. In a lubricator ofl the character described, a plunger-rod, a plungerrigidly secured to the lower end of said rod, said plunger consisting ofa compressible washer locked between two disks, a latch for embracingthe flattened sides of said rod whereby the latter is prevented fromrevolving, a nut through which said nut is threaded, a cover in whichsaid nut is fitted to revolve, a

A gear-wheel fitted to revolve upon the nut,

a plug j ournaled in the gear-wheel, the periphery ofsaid plug adaptedto pass into a notch formed in the nut so as to lock the gearwheel andnut together, said plug also having a notch formed therein forregistering with the periphery of the nut whereby the latter will beunlocked leaving the gear free to revolve independent of the nut, andmeans for revolving the gear-wheel, for the purpose set forth.

3. The herein-described combination of a multiple lubricator consistingof av series of two or more containers, a plunger fitted to slide ineach container, a plunger-rod rigidly secured to each of the plungers, anut through which each of the plunger-rods is threaded, means forholding said plunger-rods against rotation when the nuts are revolved, agearwheel fitted to revolve around each of said nuts, the gear-wheel ofeach container meshing with the gear-wheel of the neXt adjacentcontainer, means for locking each gear-wheel to its nut and actuatingmechanism adapted to revolve the gear-wheel of one of the containerswhereby the remaining gear-'wheels will be revolved in unison therewith,for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afliX my signature in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK G. TEES.

AWitnesses:

MARY E. HAMER, S. S. WILLIAMSON.

